ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The reeling Rangers needed a win in the worst way Tuesday.

They got one in the best possible way.

After seven straight losses, a players-only meeting and a free fall that seemed unstoppable, a quick early run — on a home run, no less — and a quick shutdown inning changed everything. And when they were done with a 7-1 win over Tampa Bay three hours later, they had a vastly different perspective.

They were back atop the AL wild-card standings, holding the current head-to-head tiebreaker over Tampa Bay. It also kept them a half-game ahead of fast-charging Cleveland, which is a half-game back of the wild-card leaders.

Perhaps more important, with every start over the last dozen games meaning something, they also have a fifth starter in Alexi Ogando rather than a faceless “to be determined” spot at the end of the rotation.

Ian Kinsler got the offense started with a homer on the game’s first pitch. It was the Rangers’ first homer after a seven-game drought. Ogando followed with a crisp 10-pitch bottom half to give the Rangers the lead at the end of an inning after 63 without one.

“Scoring runs and then not getting a shutdown inning has been our Achilles heel,” manager Ron Washington said shortly before confirming Ogando would start again on Sunday. “It had a tremendous impact in that it gave us a chance to get back into the dugout and keep that grinding approach. And that’s what we did.”

“It was a great way to start,” said Kinsler, who also had a two-run single in the four-run third inning. “It was just a lift to be able to give a pitcher the lead. It gave him something to work with. And he did an unbelievable job with it.”

The Rangers intended to pitch the game out of the bullpen with Ogando going three or four innings and throwing maybe 60 pitches before turning it over to a long reliever. The Rangers hoped Ogando’s recent outings from the bullpen, in which he displayed more life on his fastball and more bite to his slider, were no mirage. The feeling was that he was finally — finally — over the tendinitis and inflammation that has wrecked his season as a starter.

Ogando did just that, averaging 95.3 mph with his fastball, nearly 1.5 mph better than his season average. Also, his slider averaged 83.3 mph vs. 80 mph earlier in the year. It makes him an entirely different pitcher. An overpowering pitcher.

“It’s been a couple years since I saw him pitch like that [as a starter],” pitching coach Mike Maddux said. “He was free and easy. It was clear the injury that has been bothering him really the whole year is behind him. He was throwing the bejesus out of the ball, which is really what makes him special.”

Ogando had exactly 60 pitches after four innings, leaving Washington with a choice of extending him a tad or going to an iffy reliever such as Joseph Ortiz or veteran middle reliever Jason Frasor. With assurance from Ogando that he felt strong, Washington opted to stick with him for at least a batter or two. Ogando gave him the whole inning on nine pitches and allowed the Rangers to turn the ball to the quartet of Joakim Soria, Neal Cotts, Tanner Scheppers and Joe Nathan to finish things off. As a group, they tend to make beautiful music.

It also gives the Rangers the ability to extend him a few more pitches, say to 80 or so, on Sunday, which makes it even more possible that Washington can choose his most reliable bullpen pieces to back him up.

“It has been awhile since I had a really good feeling about my pitches,” Ogando said. “I feel really good right now.”

For the first time in a week, so did the entire team.

“Ian made the whole team relax with that homer,” said shortstop Elvis Andrus, who had his own two-run homer. “That made Ogando relax. And we made the most of the opportunity. It was a team effort.”

It was what the Rangers so badly needed.

Catch Evan Grant’s Ranger Reports all season on The Ticket (KTCK-1310 AM) on Tuesdays at 9:35 a.m. with The Musers, Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. with The Hardline and Thursdays at 2:15 p.m. with BaD Radio.

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